Key Takeaways
- Thomas Talley, 73, of Louisville’s Newburg neighborhood, faces a first-degree wanton endangerment charge after firing at a fleeing vehicle following a robbery.
- Talley told police an unknown man and woman pushed him off his scooter and stole $500 in cash before he retrieved a pistol from inside his home.
- He fired six or seven rounds at the suspects’ vehicle as it drove away, striking the glass front of a neighboring home.
- A woman inside the neighbor’s home told police she felt a bullet pass by her legs, and another bullet struck an iPad a child was playing with.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
LOUISVILLE, KY — A 73-year-old Louisville man who told police he had just been robbed is now facing a felony charge. Police say he went inside, retrieved a pistol, and fired six or seven rounds at the robbers’ fleeing vehicle, with multiple rounds striking the glass front of a neighboring home where a woman and a child were inside. Thomas Talley is charged with first-degree wanton endangerment, a Class C felony, according to court documents.
The account below comes from Talley’s arrest citation, as reported by WHAS11.
Louisville Metro Police officers responded to Talley’s home in the Newburg neighborhood around 3 p.m. Thursday on a report of a robbery with shots fired. Officers met him at the front of the house. Talley told them an unknown man and woman had pushed him off his scooter and robbed him of $500 in cash.
Then, according to the citation, Talley described what he did next. He went inside his house. He retrieved his pistol. He came back outside. He fired six or seven rounds in the direction of the suspects’ vehicle as it fled the area.
Multiple rounds struck the glass front of a nearby home. Inside were a woman and a child she was babysitting. The woman told police she felt a bullet pass by her legs. Another bullet struck an iPad the child was playing with at the time.
Getting knocked off a scooter and robbed at 73 is a violent crime, and I have no sympathy for whoever did it. But the timeline Talley himself gave police is the problem. By his account, the robbery was over and the gun came out of the house afterward. When he fired, the robbers were in a vehicle driving away. Deadly force is about stopping an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to you or someone else. It is never about getting $500 back or making sure someone pays for taking it.
Then there is the backstop. Six or seven rounds at a moving car on a residential street means every one of those bullets kept going somewhere. In this case, somewhere was a neighbor’s front glass, a woman’s legs, and a child’s tablet. Know your target and what is beyond it. That rule does not get suspended because you are angry or because the person you are shooting at just wronged you.
More from USA Carry:
Knowing the law is part of carrying, and my Kentucky concealed carry laws page is a good starting point. The mindset piece comes first, though. When the threat leaves, the fight is over. What is left is a phone call to 911 and a good description of the car.
Talley has been charged, not convicted. Everything here comes from the police account in his arrest citation, and prosecutors and the courts will decide what happens from here. He was being held at Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and was expected to be arraigned Friday, Nov. 6. The man and woman who robbed him have not been identified in the reporting.
